4th of July Devotion time

More Italy Pictures!

Some of the team swimming in Lake Albano.

Mr. Miller with Gabriela and Angelo.

A beautiful view of Italy.

This was taken on our walk to the church on the way to dinner.

Caroline, Katie, Victoria, Sarah Bradley, and Emily during our day in Rome.

The posing with a wonderful view of Italy.

Mr. Miller and Mr. Heese enjoying lunch in Rome and sportin' some wonderful sunglasses.

Welford, Becky, and Abby in front of Trevi Fountain.

Pictures from Italy!

Picture are worth a thousand words! We hope you enjoy!

-Katie Perkins

Abby is our best "tool" for communicating with the Italians.

This is the first night in front of Renato's bakery. Renato is the husband of Gabriela, the pastor of the Italian church.

Some of the girls in front of Lake Albano.

Some of the boys in front of Lake Albano.

Our 4th of July dinner at the church. (fried chicken, hamburgers, hot dogs, chips, and much much more!)

Eating pizza in Rome.

Some of the group in front of the Colosseum.

Busy, busy, fun!

We had the privilege to worship with our italian friends on Sunday. Welford gave the sermon as Gabriella, the pastor of the church, translated. We then joined our friends on the back porch of the church to fellowship and eat lots of food. We will definitely not come back hungry! Their hospitality and love ceases to amaze us. We were immediately thrown into their arms with hugs and kisses. Even though we lack our Italian communication skills we have quickly learned that love is a universal language and that there is nothing that can separate us from loving God's people.
Since Sunday was the Fourth of July, our Italian friends helped us celebrate by cooking hamburgers and hot-dogs, potato salad, potato chips, and decorated the porch with American flag tablecloths. They certainly made us feel right at home and continue to offer so much love and graciousness.
Today (Monday) we toured basically all of Rome in a matter of 7 hours! Our feet are hurting tonight! That's for sure! But what an amazing, breathtaking, spiritual experience. Each night we have a group debriefing and devotion that Phillip Riley leads and every night he asks us, "
Where did you see God today?" The answers of course are very diverse, but all so encompassing of our time here and the blessings that God has allowed us to experience. Some one mentioned tonight how God continued to provide water when we were most in need. It just so happened that we toured Rome during probably one of the hottest days so far and how we were constantly needing to stay hydrated. Interesting fact is that in Rome, the fountains are all drinkable water and are spaced out all over the city, but we would always stumble across one just when we started looking for it.
Sorry for the mini, delayed update, but thanks for reading our blogs and praying for us! It's 2:48 am in Italy.... Buona notte (good night).

Meeting the Church in Ariccia

After some much needed rest at the hotel on Saturday afternoon, we walked to the church for dinner. We were welcomed by our hosts, the congregation of La Chiesa Cristiana Evangelica Battista, Ariccia, Italy, led by their gracious pastor, Gabriela Lio.

We were served family style with our new friends. The food came course after course, and it was all delicious.

Tomorrow we will join the church for Sunday worship. Our group will sing several songs, with Solo's by Bill Miller, Katie Perkins, and Philip Riley, as well as some group ensemble pieces. Welford will preach and lead the Lord's Supper with Gabriela Lio translating into Italian. After worship we will share an Agape meal with the congregation. It promises to be a wonderful day!

Blessings on your worship back home!

Travel Details

Friday evening we flew out from Washington-Dulles at about 7pm. Between the flight duration and time change we landed in London Heathrow at 6:30-7pm, but to our bodies, it was still 1am. We flew on a comfortable Boeing 747, watched movies and slept as best we could.



Everyone was in great spirits when we landed in London, dispite the lost night of sleep.

We flew from London to Rome and arrived to find that all of our baggage had also successfully arrived and our friends from Ariccia waiting for us outside. As far as international travel goes with a group of 22 - our trip went more smoothly than one could ask. We were certainly blessed with timely flights, quick lines, and a group of students and adults who were on the ball.

We threw all of our luggage and team members into vans and sped off to Ariccia. If you are following along on a map at home, Ariccia is aprox. 30 miles south of Rome. There are three towns in succession, Albano, Ariccia, and Genzano. Our hotel is in Genzano and the Church is in Ariccia. The two towns are a beautiful 20 minute walk apart.

Off to Ariccia

Friday afternoon we left Second Baptist at 1pm to head for Ariccia Italy, via Washington Dulles, London Heathrow, and Rome. After many hours of time changes and lost sleep we arrived in Rome aprox 1pm on Saturday afternoon. We were tired but very excited.